Commercially sexy

This week sass & bide's very small capsule spring 2004 collection hits the stores. "Playboy & the Poet" (right), first seen at Australian Fashion Week in May, is unashamedly romantic, sexy, individual and very commercial. It features tie-dyed Italian silks, sequinned and jewelled details on cuffs and hems and motifs on T-shirts and, we predict, it won't last long on the shelves. Designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton are busy preparing their 50-outfit collection and custom-made accessories for the spring 2005 shows in New York in September. Fashion police can't wait. Available from David Jones, Tuchuzy in Bondi and Capital L in Darlinghurst.

Moon among DJs stars

The competition between David Jones and Myer is set to get even hotter, given the latest additions to the DJs fashion fold. This summer Willow (ready-to-wear), Jayson Brunsdon, Andrea Rembeck, Bare by Rebecca Davies, Alice McCall, Sunjoo Moon, Toni Maticevski and Camilla and Marc (the last two labels also available at Myer) will join sass & bide, Lisa Ho and Collette Dinnigan at DJs. The new line-up is impressive: Willow, Maticevski, Camilla and Marc and Sunjoo Moon were among the stars at Australian Fashion Week in May.

Move on up

For those who aren't quite ready to tuck their shirts into waist-high jeans like their Year Three teacher, never fear. The hipster is not dead, just emerging from a little nip and tuck. This season's new silhouette sees the waist of pants slightly higher. The trick is that shirts and embellished tops (think mini-kaftans and baby doll numbers) are longer. The bare midriff has gone to fashion heaven. Absolutely over. Layered or loose, the longer shirt is the key. Try Witchery double-layered top, $79.95, TL Wood Mosaic wrap shirt (above right), $465, at Myer and Scanlan & Theodore's long, fine bat-sleeve top, $180. Dotti is even going for length with its plain V-neck T-shirt, $11.

Delve at Diva's

A little gem: The Diva's Closet is a hot spot for lovers of real vintage. Regina Evans, a former legislative assistant in the US Congress and lover of vintage since she wore one of her mother's dresses to her school formal, has set up an intimate showroom in Paddington that stocks pieces from the '20s to the '70s. There are beaded '20s gowns, '30s bias-cut numbers and '50s "new look" pieces for the serious vintage romantic. On each swing tag, Evans writes the "story" of the garment. Her stock is sourced mainly from the US and Australia. (Her favourite piece - a Jacques Griffe 1958 melon A-line couture dress - was found locally.) From $55 to $15,000, there is a piece of beautiful fashion history for everyone. Call 9361 6659 to make an appointment.

Enviro bag

When environmental conscience and a fashion trend meet, it usually ends in tears (look no further than fur and sweatshops or reality shows that involve Paris Hilton and a farm). Slingfings, a new bag company in Mullumbimby near Byron Bay, makes colourful oversized totes and a host of other handbags, proclaiming "Eco meets Retro". Slingfings bags are made to modern designs from recycled "vintage" fabric - meaning each is unique - and they are sewn on solar-powered machines. For her original creation, owner Rachel Bending took inspiration from the colourful and practical bags she saw locals using as she trekked through Ladakh in the Himalayas. The good-looking bags will add a little relaxed Mullumbimby feel to city shopping. Fashion police is partial to the satchel style. Design your own bag online at http://www.slingfings.com

Wide-eyed

Fashion police is not denying that Perth schoolgirl Gemma Ward has made a big impact on the international modelling scene - her wide-eyed "interplanetary" look has numerous imitators. The 16-year-old, who made her catwalk debut at the 2003 Australian Fashion Week and was a star on the European catwalks earlier this year, has just been shot by Steven Meisel for Miu Miu and has appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia and W. Is she an iconic beauty up there with Charlotte Rampling, Estee Lauder and Deborah Mitford (a British duchess and grandmother of model Stella Tennant)? Influential fashion website http://www.style.com thinks so. What list is she going to make for her 17th birthday?